King Giroma and the two kings left the palace without a word to Daisy, without even trying to make the situation any better not with a peace deal, nor even with basic territorial integrity to let the kingdom survive on its own and the fact that they left without a single word told her everything she needed to know.
"It was all a lie." She whispered as knuckled her fist once again.
[System: It wasn't a lie. People suffering is true, but he used it to try to manipulate you. He does not care about the people.]
Just like back on Earth he tried to use the people in the biggest shit to help himself, what the fucking nobody he is…
[System: Indeed, but don't you think you went over the board?]
The game is about surviving and building the Empire… how do I do it when fuckers want my head? I acted fast and clear.
[System: You could have been more careful with your words, and by holding more meetings you could have wasted some time, maybe even weeks to prepare for something bigger. By saying it out of the blue like this, nobody is ready for it, not even them, and it will speed up a lot of things, and hurry makes mistakes.]
I don't care about it, if things go fast there is a greater likelihood of making mistakes, I learned it when I became a manager… and I know exactly what to do to counter it.
"Lie…?" Albert asked back as the executioners went away with the nobles looking a bit confused why she was whispering to herself, but to be honest he wasn't shocked, not for a bit, not the two generals or the nobles.
To be honest, everybody wanted this to happen, everyone wanted the Empress to shout at them, to execute them, to fight back but nobody actually believed it would. The chances were almost impossible… and yet it all happened.
The Empire that Daisy's father built has the will to endure, or maybe even become much better under her leadership… a leadership that truly carries royal blood and royal will.
Though the nobles on Daisy's side weren't exactly shocked, they were more stressed. She wanted to cut down the nobles who held more power than they did… and not just power, but mercenaries as well.
"Uhm… your Majesty." One of the nobles spoke as his eyes were on the ground. He looked good, dressed exactly like how nobles dress, in expensive bright clothing and jewels on his finger.
Fern Mihalivo, one of the nobles that has been next to her father since the beginning, old but experienced.
"Say it." Daisy said as looked at him.
"I am utterly happy about the decision you have just made, to protect the civilians and our own integrity," he said as he bent down a bit. "But about the noble houses…" He looked up. "They have mercenaries and in the last couple of weeks they have… started paying off their workers."
"What do you mean?" She asked back.
"Your Majesty." Another noble spoke, Jilian Damascus, a longer haired and the younger in the room, maybe thirty years old. "All the nobles paid off their workers to ensure they are loyal to them, and have the will to fight on their side. Combining it with the mercenaries and with the three kingdom military… it is alarming."
"Exactly, your Majesty," Fern continued. "Not because of how many stand with the nobles, but because of the workers, the civilians they can start a rebellion, and a rebellion is worse than a war itself…" He looked up again. "In a rebellion, we kill our own people, the very ones we built this Empire on. And the flames of rebellion spread quickly among the poor, the starving."
It was true. Rebellion was far more dangerous than a war, because it didn't come from outside, it came from the very people the empire depended on. The workers, the civilians, the starving, their anger could ignite suddenly, spreading like wildfire through villages and towns. A single act of defiance could inspire hundreds, then thousands, until the flames could no longer be contained.
Wars could be fought with armies and strategy, but rebellions struck where the empire was weakest, in its people. Even the strongest soldiers and the most loyal nobles could not stop an uprising once it began.
And that was why the nobles' threats, the armies, and the mercenaries did not matter as much as the people themselves. The moment the civilians rose, it would be unstoppable.
"We understand, your Majesty," another spoke, Terim Giovanni. "It is treacherous to say out loud, but it needs to be said… the people will rise against us, against your Majesty, if we do nothing to stop them. And the executions… you set them for today, and the word of the betrayers has already been spread."
"Oh…" Daisy couldn't really say anything else, as she thought about it more and more it was clear why the Giroma had so much self confidence. "So… they bought their workers and with it when they hear that they will be executed they show up spreading the word to everybody of the rebellion?"
"Not to everybody, your Majesty, but to those people who are in the worst situation in the Empire."
"And those people… are ready to die, not for me but against me."
[System: Correct.]
Tell me how long since I have been the official Empress, the ruler of the Empire?
[System: Your reign officially started with the tutorial phase, which means it has been 8 days.]
"So…" She finally sat down with everybody following her.. "I have been on the throne for eight days and no more, I did nothing so far, not even one rule, one thing, nothing… and people are ready to rebel against me without even knowing what I want for the future, what I want for the people."
"If I may speak, your Majesty," General Böring said, and Daisy nodded. "Your father ruled for forty years, made the Empire great, and built cities with hundreds of thousands of people. He fortified the borders and established an economy, but people are still starving, especially those on the border." His eyes shifted, and Daisy noticed he had been there back then. "They always bore the worst suffering, their towns and villages burned, their families slaughtered, never compensated, left behind. They do whatever they are told, for money or survival, and an Empress can't change that."
Silence fell as she thought about it.
She remembered bits of history not much, but enough to see a pattern.
Many uprisings had begun in the same way, shaped by perspective. The royals lived in lavish luxury while the civilians suffered and died. Any hint of rebellion or protest was met with bloodshed, swords cutting down the people, which only fueled more frustration and anger.
In the end, the palace burned, and the royals were hanged or executed by their own people.
Napoleon shot them with cannons… but I'm not him, which means I need to do what great leaders did… listen to the people… no… implement reforms. Her eyes lit up as she pieced it together.
[System: Your best decision so far.]
[System: Achievement Earned: Hear the voice of your own.]
But before listening I need to clear… everything.
"We are in a situation where the people hold more power and that's how it should be. We work for them, not the other way around." Daisy said, repeating a quote she once read on the internet. "Which means this, the councillors, the advisers, the military leaders. Anyone who stands against me will be executed. Their wealth will be redistributed, and from their blood we will build an Empire that outlasts all of us!"
Now this was something entirely different, something that shocked everyone in the room to their core. She had just said the complete opposite of how an Empire was supposed to rule, the opposite of how things had always worked.
What she wanted was exactly what everyone had once begged her late father for.
Reforms, and a new era where the people were no longer slaves to the crown. A world where they did not work for the Empire… but the Empire worked for them.
An Empire that could truly stand for decades.
[System: You have successfully boosted the morale of everybody who is present]
[You have successfully boosted their trust and loyalty.]